Christian Henri Marquand (15 March 1927 – 22 November 2000) was a French actor.

Early life

Marquand was born in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, to a Spanish father and an Arab mother. He was the brother of actor Serge Marquand and filmmaker Nadine Trintignant.^[1]

Career

Marquand's first film appearance was in 1946, as a footman in Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête). After a few more small parts, he was prominently featured in Christian-Jaque's Lucrèce Borgia (1953) as one of Lucrezia's lovers, and as an Austrian soldier in Luchino Visconti's Senso (1954).

In 1956, he was directed by Roger Vadim in And God Created Woman (Et Dieu... créa la femme) opposite Brigitte Bardot. That film's success led to starring roles in the movies No Sun in Venice (1957), Temptation (1959), and The Big Show (1960) and leads opposite actresses Maria Schell, Jean Seberg, and Annie Girardot.

In 1962, Marquand appeared as French Naval Commando leader Philippe Kieffer in Darryl F. Zanuck's World War II movie The Longest Day, which led to further roles in international productions such as Behold a Pale Horse (1964), Lord Jim (1965) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965).

He appeared in feature films and television throughout the 1970s, and played a French plantation owner in Francis Ford Coppola's re-edited Vietnam war epic Apocalypse Now Redux (1979/2001). His last performance was in a 1987 French TV mini-series. He directed two films, Les Grands Chemins (1963) and the all-star sex farce Candy (1968).

Personal life

Marquand was married to actress Tina Aumont from 1963 to 1966. He had a son, Yann (born 1972), from a relationship with actress Dominique Sanda.

Marquand was a close friend of actor Marlon Brando, who named his son after him, as did director Roger Vadim.^[2]

Death

Marquand was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1985, retiring from acting two years later. He died from complications of the illness on 22 November 2000.^[1]

Selected filmography